SimplyHired.com®, the world’s largest job search engine, today released its April 2012 Employment Outlook highlighting national and local markets, as well as industry and employer trends. Nationwide job openings increased in March by 5 percent month-over-month and 4.3 percent year-over-year. Nationwide job competition also remained the same at a ratio of three unemployed persons for every one job opening.

“This year, we’re seeing real stability in the job market, and the increases across industries and metros are promising,” said Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. “With increasing employer confidence in the economy, job seekers should see steady opportunities in the coming months.”

Hiring increases in nearly all top metros.

Job openings increased in 49 of the 50 top metro areas in March, compared to 30 metros in February. Metros with the largest job growth include Albuquerque and Santa Fe (8.7 percent), Minneapolis (7.5 percent), West Palm Beach (7.4 percent), and Philadelphia (7.1 percent). Grand Rapids (-2.6 percent) was the only metro with a decline in job openings.

Military, construction jobs increase.

The construction industry shows continued growth for the third consecutive month with an 11.3 percent increase in job openings. Other industries experiencing double digit month-over-month growth in job openings include military (18 percent), media (11.6 percent) and travel (10.9 percent).

Sales, finance jobs decline.

Sales representative job openings decreased by 10.7 percent in March after a strong 53 percent increase in February. Other occupation categories experienced decreases in job openings including financial specialists and accountants (-9.2 percent) and journalists and media workers (-8.3 percent).